Return Engagement

A return engagement with Circuit Park Zandvoort was on the docket in Week Ten for iRacing.com Skip Barber Race Series drivers. While the layout was new the name at the top of the time sheets was the same as Club France’s Samuel Libeert established himself as the driver to beat at the virtual Netherlands track. Behind him though the fighting was fierce between the other 549 drivers this week and that fighting proved to be enough to tighten up the points race heading into the penultimate round of the championship.

From left to right: Michael Lorenson (Club Georgia), Chris Hannigan (Club Georgia), Guy Leach (Club Australia) and Marc De Loose (Club Benelux) make it four abreast cleanly at the start showing that four wide does not always need to lead to a wreck.

In qualifying Libeert was the only one to crack the 1:55 barrier, lapping the thirteen turn, 2.671 mile Grand Prix layout at 1:54.964 seconds. Behind was a new name as Club California’s Christian Szymczak put up an extremely impressive 1:55.144 lap. iRacing.com World Championship Road Racing participant Ben Cornett also made an appearance at Zandvoort, taking third place in qualifying with a lap at 1:55.215. Rounding out the top five were championship contenders Frank Hermann and Roland Ehnström, only a few hundredths of a second each behind Cornett.

Throughout the course of the week if you lined up on the grid chances are you would be chasing Jaroslav Honzik as the Club International member took home thirteen wins in his fifteen races, most of any driver. When the week’s highest Strength of Field (SOF) race went off once again at 3:45PM EST on Monday though, Honzik and series points leader Hermann were absent. At the front of the grid was fast qualifier of the week Libeert with winner of the JWH Racing League event, Ehnström, lined up along side. When the green lights came on Libeert put on a clinic, leading every lap and was never seriously challenged for the lead. In fact the way the podium lined-up to start the race was exactly how they would finish with Libeert taking first for 227 points, Ehnström second for 209 and Club Benelux’s Thomas Arends taking the final step of the podium and 192 points. In what had to be the most uneventful SOF race of the season the only major challenge to position was for second place. On two occasions Arends managed to get alongside of Ehnström but never quite had enough to make the pass.

Club France’s Samuel Libeert leads the field away in the week’s highest SOF race.

With Hermann failing to score well enough to add to his points total this week and a win from Ehnström for 223 points from the JWH League race, there is now a tinge of uncertainty in the championship race. While it won’t be impossible  Ehnström is still very much facing an uphill fight to pull out the championship. Provided Hermann doesn’t improve on his 180 points at Charlotte at Road Atlanta or Watkins Glen second place Ehnström will need to average 196 points in each of the next two weeks to take the title away from the Club DE-AT-CH driver.

While uncertainty lingers in the racing championship this week Hermann managed to lock down the time trial championship after posting fastest time for the week. His 799 points out of 800 makes it mathematically impossible for anyone to catch him, well done!

We invite you to join us for Week Eleven action in the penultimate round of the championship at Road Atlanta October 11th-18th followed by the final showdown at Watkins Glen Cup October 18th-25th.

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